A staggering 7 million people—one in 32 U.S. adults—were on probation or parole or locked behind bars at the end of 2005, according to U.S. Justice Department statistics. Of that total, 2.2 million were in prison or jail.

The number of inmates rose almost 3 percent over the previous year. While prison releases are increasing, admissions are increasing even more.

More sadly still, though the number of men behind bars greatly outnumbers female inmates, women are catching up. While the male prison population increased by 1.9 percent over the last year, the number of females incarcerated grew by 2.6 percent. Women now account for 7 percent of all prison inmates. (Source: Associated Press.)